It has long been known that children often have trouble learning to tie their shoe laces because they do not possess the fine motor skills required. But even when they learn how to tie their shoe laces, they are often too lazy about how the shoe laces are tied. Such an attitude has led many to choose slip-ons, causal shoes, and shoes that have hook and eye straps instead of conventional tie up shoes.
Still, there are advantages to having shoe laces, and like it or not, children will be asked to tie shoe laces for the foreseeable future. Other than children, there is a need for shoe laces that are easier to tie by people who are either handicapped, or physically limited. For instance, people suffering with arthritis in their hands, or victims of stroke, may find it difficult, and uncomfortable to tie conventional shoe laces.
U.S. Pat. No. 579,943 disclosed a shoe lace composed of a sheath and core. However, because the shoe lace core is made of a non-metallic material, it is not easy to manipulate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,468 entitled “Training Shoelace” describes a shoe lace that has markings on the outside, and opposite end portions that are just stiff enough to retain the shape to which they are bent while permitting a child or handicapped person to easily bend them during the tying of a bow. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,522 discloses a shoe lace on which the opposite end portions are just stiff enough to substantially retain its shape. But because both of these patents rely on using just a single piece of uncoated copper wire as the lace core, these laces are more easily prone to breakage and can pierce the sheath making the shoe lace unsafe.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need for an improved shoe lace that can be used easily by children, and persons with physical disabilities, to tie their shoes. There is also a need for an improved shoe lace that does not contain different markings, or mechanisms, on the outer sheath of the shoe lace, because such markings will only confuse these individuals once they have learned, and started using a conventional shoe lace.